This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.
Ontario Mining Association member De Beers Canada has helped enhance the infrastructure of the First Nation community of Attawapiskat over the winter. De Beers Canada’s support of 370 kilometres of winter roads facilitated the arrival of needed new housing in the community and more than 1,100 tonnes of rock, which was donated, to provide the foundation for the construction of a new elementary school.
The 1,100-plus tonnes of rock were from the Victor pit. It was crushed at the mine site over a 24-hour per day, four day period and shipped 90 kilometres east to Attawapiskat. It was vital to get this building foundation material to the community before the winter road closed for the season.
De Beers Canada contributes substantial funding to the First Nation owned and operated 280 kilometre section of the winter road from Moosonee north to Attawapiskat. The company contributes 100% of the funding to build and operate the 90 kilometre section of the road from Attawapiskat west to the Victor Mine site.
The Attawapiskat community on the west side of James Bay is located about 1,100 kilometres north of Toronto. The winter road provides a small window of opportunity for major supplies, fuel and construction materials to get to the community and the mine site. More 200 First Nation employees with local community contractors built and maintained the 370 kilometres of winter road starting in December 2011.
More than 500 loads of freight were delivered over the seasonal road during a period of 32 consecutive days. While the construction of the temporary thoroughfare was taking place, there were no incidents and there were no vehicle accidents during the operation of the road.
“The 2011-2012 winter road program was one of our best ever,” said Mike Lacouciere, Victor Mine Logistics General Supervisor. “The coordination of this important resupply effort requires cooperation across all departments at the mine as well as from our community partners. The commitment to seeing a safe program executed while adapting to the needs of the community this year was outstanding and everyone can be proud of their contributions to this year’s success.”
Approximately 40% of Victor Mine’s workforce is comprised of First Nations residents. Also, of the $120-million plus the mine spends on goods and services annually, about one third is supplied by Aboriginal businesses.
De Beers Canada operates the Victor diamond mine in Ontario and the Snap Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, where it also controls the Gahcho Kue diamond project. The company employs about 1,000 people in Canada and has offices in Toronto, Timmins and Yellowknife.
Miners and mining companies are responsible, solution-providing partners in society. They do more than find, extract and process minerals essential to our modern lifestyle. These companies are economic enterprises operated by men and women who are members of society and community builders. As volunteers and donors, they add great value to the quality of life in their communities.
April 5, 2012
Mining is the largest private sector employer of Aboriginals in Canada.
Aboriginals represent 7.5% of the mining workforce and 3.8% of the Canadian population.